imagine a different world.

It is now a week after I was finally able to purchase an Apple iPhone and I could not be happier. Sure, I am a tad worried about the battery, but these days, who isn’t?

Anyways, it all started one and a half years ago. Er wait, it actually started way before that. Even before the original iPod. Way back when I became addicted to the company we have all come to love: Apple. Someone recommended visiting MacRumors.com for the latest company news and the rest is history. I have not stopped following them since. Although I have only purchased three’ish computers, one iPod and now one phone, I am one of Apple’s and Steve Jobs’ biggest fans.

Enough of the really way-back past. Let’s fast forward to just last week…

iDay 3G: Day One

On Friday, July 11, 2008, I headed to the Apple Store right after work, as my mom stood in line waiting for the opportunity to purchase an iPhone 3G.

As most people know, I had to take the Brainard Rd/Cedar Rd exit to travel to the Apple Store.

Here I am sitting in my car trying to get to the Apple Store as fast as possible and I hit rush hour on Cedar Rd. Luckily I didn’t have to wait too long.

The new iPhone 3G went on sale across the country at AT&T Stores and Apple Stores at 8 am. I finally arrived around 6 pm and there was still a line. We all know there were issues with activation (thanks AT&T) so that was part of the reason the line still existed, but they were also still selling phones.

Even though they still had phones, the nice gentleman from the Apple Store told us that they were running low on 16GB phones, the only size I wanted. Based on our position in line, he said, they would be totally out of that size when we arrived at the front. Ugh. Also, they might be totally out of phones when we arrived inside the store. Just in case, we continued to wait.

We waited a few more minutes and then Apple employee did another stock check. He counted how many people in line wanted 16 GB phones and based on the availability I was out of luck. There was no reason for me to settle for an 8 GB phone when that is only twice the size of my completely full iPod Nano. It was time to go eat..

After eating a wonderful veggie quesadilla and tator tots, we saw the gentleman that was behind us in line prior to eating still waiting for a phone. He said they had somehow found extra 8 GB phones in the back so he would be waiting (for awhile) for his 8 GB iPhone 3G….

…while I drove home to prepare for tomorrow morning.

iDay 3G: Day Two

Apple told us in line that they would “most likely” be receiving another shipment of iPhone 3Gs Saturday around the time they open. People are able to start lining up at 4. Well, I wasn’t that crazy, but I did start my day by waking up around 4:45 and getting ready to camp out for MY 16 GB iPhone 3G.

My car was all packed with a chair, reading material, drinks and even some snacks. It was going to be a long morning, and day, but I would leave with an iPhone 3G.

Along the way to the Apple Store, I took some photos to document time and the fact that it was pitch black outside. My car clock is approximately 5 minutes fast so it is about 5:20 am in this photo.

Lander Circle as the sun began to come up.

As I was taking pictures of this light (Shaker West), it turned green, which it should do. However, I still needed to take another photo so I did not go. Then, it turned red, while I was still sitting there. How does that happen? Luckily, soon after it turned red, it turned back to green.

Fairmount. I am getting closer.

Cedar. I am just about there.

I arrived at the Apple Store around 5:35 (remember my clock is 5 minutes fast) and there was no one in line and I do not believe that anybody was even sitting in their car. I believed I was #1.

Here is the Apple Store early on a Saturday Morning. I sat in my car until I was forced out. This way I was able to be comfortable and listen to the radio, more specifically, NPR.

You begin to get bored, and creative as you are so excited that you can’t nap or rest or do much of anything. This is me. Early in the morning.

By this time cars had begun to appear around me with people also waiting for the iPhone. It was basically an unwritten rule that we would wait in our cars until we were forced out by some unknown force. That force was a gentleman, by himself, who pulled up, got out of his car, got his chair and walked towards the Apple Store. Everyone else followed him and so began the sitting and waiting…in front of the store.

Everyone was so nice and we all worked out who was in what spot. I even saw a young kid who was in front of me the night before. He had arrive at the Apple Store at 4:30, an hour earlier than me.

For the first little bit, people either read or just stood/sat around as we waited for the opportunity to purchase our own iPhone 3Gs. Yes, this is me reading. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen!

There was a sign outside the Apple Store that everyone saw as they began to stand in line. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it. The sign said that the Apple Store did not currently have any iPhones. Even the manager came out to tell all of us waiting in line that they didn’t have any and HOPED to get a shipment in that day, but they did not know when. He told us to look for a FedEx truck with an armed guard. As my friend in line said, “we are all waiting on a whim.” We all were hoping that they would receive a shipment in that morning, and were told the day prior that it was highly likely. Even Apple’s iPhone availability checker told us they had phones in stock, although the validity of that is still being disputed.

This was my set-up for the morning. I had my bag, camera case, magazine, Pom Tea and other goodies. I really didn’t use them much, but I had them just in case.

As the sun began rise, and the morning came along, more people began to stand in line, hoping like everyone else in the front of the line, that Apple would in fact receive a shipment of iPhones.

Current time I believe, according to this photo, is ~8:10 am. My watch is broken, hence the extra node near the 45 sec mark.

As time wore on, I began to get nervous, since I still had to be at the Cafe at 12:00 for work. The iPhones would have to show up no later than 11 for me to be activated and out and still have time to go across the street for work.

Many people asked us why we were in line and even a few made fun of us. Some thought it was the line to get in the store. We began to mock those people.

Here is the FedEx truck that had our iPhones, or so we thought. Where is the armed guard? Ha. Everyone cheered the minute we all saw the truck. We inquired as to if this was in fact the truck we had been waiting all morning for. Was this the truck that would contain iPhones for everyone in line? One Apple employee said she was not sure and that they would have to check and see…

A few minutes later the manager came outside to inform us that this was not the truck we were waiting for. It only contained their “regular shipment of products” and no iPhones. We needed to continue to look for another FedEx truck, this time with the armed guard that was previously mentioned. Our hopes and dreams were dashed in a matter of moments. One person in line said if he wanted to get teased that bad, he would go to a strip joint!

The manager even mentioned that someone was taking a photo of the truck. He asked were they next going to take a picture of himself? He could stand there, pose and hold up an iPhone. Ha. I was the talk of the store, simply because I was taking a picture of a FedEx truck.

Amazingly, yes, there was a line this long the morning after the iPhones went on sale. At last count, there was approximately 85 people in line…all for a phone! (Yes, I was one of them, but I loved every minute of it.) Days and week(s) after the phone, Apple is still having problems keeping the phones in stock and lines have been known to form here and there. Crazy! Their inventory check site is a great invention! (When it works!)

As time passed, I began to worry about the real possibility that the shipment of iPhones would arrive long after I was at work. Someone mentioned that an Apple employee commented that the iPhones could arrive even at 3 pm. Therefore, I set checkpoints. To the people around me, I would say the iPhones would arrive at 10:00 am, hoping deep down inside that it would actually happen. As a fellow line person said, we needed to think positively.

10:00 am passed without the iPhones “arriving.” Next checkpoint, 10:30, gone without any phones. Then, a fellow iPhone fanatic asked me what the next checkpoint would be. I responded with, “11:00 am.” He responded, “Your checkpoints are becoming really predictable…” So, I decided to switch it up, “Next checkpoint is 10:48 am.” …

These were my fellow line buddies + mom. I could have not asked for better friends to spend 5 hours with on a Saturday. We talked, we laughed, we cried, we smiled, it was a blast. Some people might make fun of me for what I did, but let me tell you, I would do it all over again. Apple geeks are a different kind of geeks, the kind that have a camaraderie just because of the technology they own and adore. I never met these people before last Saturday, but simply because we are fans of Apple, we had no problem spending a few hours chatting it up and having a blast. All because of a stinkin’ phone.

…Minutes after I mentioned that the new checkpoint would be 10:48 the manager came out sand said they had iPhones all of a sudden. All because of my change of predictable checkpoints, our iPhones “arrived.” No new FedEx truck had appeared. No armed guard, only a UPS truck, DHL truck and produce (x a lot) trucks. Once I realized what was going on, I heard someone ask if this was like Washington D.C. and if they had underground tunnels. Apple does not have a back entrance where a FedEx truck could pull up unnoticed. That original FedEx truck, the one I took a picture of was the truck, the one that contained our iPhones. It had to be…

This was the phone the iPhone was replacing. This was my previous phone that I had for three years. This phone needed to go. Badly.

People suggested that I stomp on it or destroy it in some manner, but I just couldn’t bring myself to that. I loved this phone!

Me waiting for the concierge to take me into the Apple Store to finally buy my iPhone.

Me Inside the Apple Store waiting for all of the activation and purchasing to finish up. It turned out to be a hot day and we were not in the shade, so I had taken off my polo hours ago. I look bad. Ha.

A posed non-posed photo - my mom’s favorite type of photo!

The Apple Store has glass doors and so when I was walking out of the store, I wasn’t paying attention and trying to wave to the people in line. I missed the opened door by a lot. I walked right into the closed, glass, clear door. What an exit…

Here is the Apple line after I had purchased my phone and changed into my Nordstrom Cafe uniform. Still going and still selling.